Ferrari aiming to rediscover winning ways

While much of the pre-season talk has centered around Michael Schumacher's return and McLaren's intra-team 'Battle of Britain,' perhaps the most intriguing battle in Formula 1 this season will be the struggle for supremacy at Ferrari between new signing Fernando Alonso and the returning Felipe Massa.

Last year was a bad one for the Maranello outfit. Not only did it miss the boat at the start of the season as far as double diffusers are concerned, it also lost its leading light at mid-season when Massa crashed heavily in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying after receiving a clout on the head at 170mph from a spring that had fallen off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn.

Massa though, after spending the rest of the year recovering, has bounced back with a vengeance. Such has been his speed during pre-season testing in Ferrari's new F10, it looks as if he's never been away.

He is fitter and more motivated than ever, and that can only be a good thing as he tries to get back to the kind of form that resulted in that oh-so near world title miss in '08.

After outperforming 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen during their last two seasons together, he should not be underestimated, even against a rival as tough as Alonso.

The Spaniard though, has his own point to prove. Since winning back-to-back titles with Renault in 2005-06, he was matched at McLaren by then newcomer Hamilton and has not won a grand prix for 18 months, thanks largely to a Renault car that was even less competitive than Ferrari's offering last year.

Where Alonso should come into his own is motivating the team n just like Schumacher used to. And that's exactly what his side of the garage needs after three years of Raikkonen n a man whose attitude was questioned on more than one occasion.

This, coupled with the speed that has netted him 21 grand prix wins since '03, makes him a terrifying prospect for those who must challenge him. How Massa deals with this, will determine the balance of power within the squad.

Alonso dropped out of the Castrol Rankings top-10 in September last year and has been rooted in 19th place since November. Given his and Ferrari's testing form though, he is highly expected to take at least one win during the early stages of the season, which would move him up significantly.

Massa, incredibly, languishes much lower down n all the way back in 84th place to be exact. He will be hard-pushed to make up much ground until August either, although from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards (the races he missed last year through injury), expect him to make significant gains.

It would certainly be a surprise if the Scuderia's pair of stallions did not both end the year in the top-10.